Tom Ilube’s Seven Insights

Until recently Tom Ilube was Chief Information Officer of the world's largest pure online bank, Egg plc and a member of the Executive Committee.

In 2005 Tom left Egg plc to found Garlik, in partnership with Mike Harris, the Founding CEO of Egg plc and Professor Nigel Shadbolt of Southampton University.

Tom's technology career spans 20 years with a range of blue chip organisations including Goldman Sachs, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, The London Stock Exchange, Cap Gemini and British Airways. He is a Fellow of the British Computer Society and a Liveryman and Court Assistant of the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists', the City's 100th Livery Company.

He has an MBA from Cass Business School and in 2005 the University of Wolverhampton awarded Tom the honorary degree of Doctor of Technology.

An excellent and engaging speaker, here are my notes:

The Past

Companies that he's been worked for or started:

• Price Waterhouse Coopers
• Goldman Sachs
• Lost Wax
• Egg.com
• Garlik

Garlik

• See: www.garlik.com
• Symantic Web Technology
• More than £10 Million in Venture Capital

Tom first explained a nearly universal truth about entrepreneurs. They always tell you all the positives with absolute certainty. As If they know them to be true!

And so, with absolute certainty, here are his seven fundamental insights into business...

1. How to Build a Team

• Form – choose roles for everyone, recruit the best you can.
• Storm – let it go wrong, maybe even encourage it to break down. Teams argue to start with however good your management skill.
• Perform – knock them dead with your streamlined, calm and collected team.

2. When to Make a Decision

1. Gather 60 to 80% of the information.
2. Make your decision.
3. If it's wrong, will it kill the business? Only a very small number of decisions can (these ones might need a little more thought).
4. Take SMART risks to avoid wasting time or losing momentum.
5. Don't stick to your incorrect decisions. Admit it. Get over it. Fix it.

Alignment vs Agreement

• Make sure everyone in your team is 'aligned' – they are all moving in the same direction.
• Don't try to get everyone to agree, they probably never will.

DEFINE A SPECIFIC GOAL AND MOVE AS ONE UNSTOPPABLE FORCE TOWARDS IT!

3. Where's the Money?

Where should you find funding?

• Family and Friends – you will probably never win here... whatever the outcome they're disappointed!
• Venture Capitalists – can be sharks showing little emotion
• Angel Investors – will want to be heavily involved – it can become annoying – they will always worry about their money – they will probably interfere.

Remember, when raising money from Venture Capitalists (VCs) , expect a 50:1 rejection rate and know that the timescale is likely to be 12 months.

Don't be hurt when you show them your baby but they just tell you it's ugly!

4. What is the Most Important Subject?

DRAMA!

Staff who you are leading will quickly pick up on your feelings as well as how you treat them. Always appear in good spirits, be careful of knee-jerk reactions.

5. Who Are You?

Myers-Briggs personality profile says Tom Ilube is:

INFJ

...A big ideas guy who creates energy from within himself, acts on his feeling and prefers planning to spontaneity.

Tom warns to be careful of offending people whose personalities work differently to yours. Just because you want some alone time, it doesn't mean they do too!

6. What's Your Purpose?

I am a...

Work out your conditions of satisfaction. Then set some SMART targets!

Make your own bold promise:

In 12 months time, I will be...

7. Leading a Start-up is about Commitment

• It's about the creation of a company – that is what serial entrepreneurs crave.
• There is no parallel in being an employee. It just doesn't compare.

Gems from the Q and A

• "Bootstrapping" is great but you shouldn't let it hold you back!
• Every chief executive feels uncertain about the big shoes their wearing once in a while.
  • ALWAYS HAVE A DREAM OR AN ULTIMATE AMBITION
  • But, if you can't cope with where you are now, you may as well forget it...
• Brand names: What makes a great one?
  • Does what it says on the tin? – obvious for customers but limiting
  • An adaptable Umbrella? – 'garlik' might do anything!
  • Look at the core ideals of the company -> generate LOADS of ideas...hundreds.
  • Think about what people remember
  • People don't need to like it, they should want to learn more about it.